South Africa gamble on Mulder at number three in WTC final against Australia

LONDON: South Africa captain Temba Bavuma admitted all-rounder Wiaan Mulder lacks experience at the top of the batting order after picking him to bat at number three against Australia in the World Test Championship final at Lord´s.

Mulder has only batted twice in Test matches at number three, making 15 against Sri Lanka in November and five against Pakistan in January, but he is now preparing to face a formidable Australia attack featuring Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc.

South Africa have impressive depth in batting, with wicketkeeper Kyle Verreynne, who has hit four Test centuries, dropping down to number seven in the order followed by Marco Jansen, who is a useful batsman as well as a dangerous bowler. Bavuma acknowledged the 27-year-old Mulder was “quite young in the position” of number three.

But the skipper told reporters at Lord´s on the eve of the WTC final that Mulder “has grown in the last two years in the red-ball format”. “It is about giving him a lot more confidence and allowing him to do what he does best,” he said.

“He has an opportunity in a pressure situation and he can take comfort in the fact that the guys are backing him and we just want him to go out and play his natural game.” Mulder failed to make a half-century in his first 24 Test innings before scoring 54 and 105 not out batting down the order in successive Tests against Bangladesh last October.

Lungi Ngidi was chosen ahead of Dane Paterson even though his fellow paceman is used to the conditions at Lord´s after playing English county cricket there for Middlesex this season. Bavuma said it was a tough decision but said he believed the combination of Ngidi and the medium-paced Mulder would complement the strike power of Kagiso Rabada and Jansen.

Bavuma admitted South Africa had been outplayed when they toured Australia in 2022/23 -- a three-match series that the home team won 2-0. But it was a time of turmoil in South Africa´s Test set-up following the resignation of Mark Boucher as coach.

“It was a little bit of an eye-opener, seeing how their batters went about their business and facing their bowlers and how you are always under pressure,” said Bavuma. But he said the series had enabled him to look at his own game and that the current team under coach Shukri Conrad was better equipped to compete against the Australians.

South Africa team:

Aiden Markram, Ryan Rickelton, Wiaan Mulder, Temba Bavuma (capt), Tristan Stubbs, David Bedingham, Kyle Verreynne (wkt), Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi